Report to SRCD Members on the Strategic Planning Process

The Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) was founded in 1933 to “stimulate and support research, to encourage cooperation among individuals engaged in the scientific study of child development, and to encourage applications of research findings”. Since then, SRCD has remained at the forefront of developmental science, providing leadership for the field amid changing scientific and social contexts. Throughout the decades, the Society has maintained its commitment to the developing child as the primary focus of scientific inquiry and to the use of that science to improve child, family, and community well-being across diverse contexts.

SRCD faces a rapidly changing environment. Technological advances, the growth of interdisciplinary research in developmental science, and increased opportunities for international collaboration open promising new avenues for scientific discovery and application. Capitalizing on these opportunities to forge an integrative developmental science, however, will require bridging disciplinary silos and national borders, and will require increased diversity in research foci and in the scientific work force. Changes in funding structures, university systems, and research processes will likewise require adaptation and innovation if the research is to remain strong and vibrant. To enable SRCD to address unfolding challenges and to take advantage of emerging opportunities for developmental science and its application, SRCD initiated a strategic planning process to identify future Society directions. The following pages describe the planning process and the strategic goals that emerged from deliberation.